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‘Walking Pneumonia’ vs. Covid-19, Uncannily Similar But Different At Core

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By Aakansha Malia

December 2, 2023
4:30 pm
Los Angeles, CA

As frigid temperatures hit China after the removal of all COVID-19 restrictions, a mysterious Pneumonia outbreak among children is spreading like wildfire in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai. With hospitals and clinics overwhelmed with thousands of children admitted and parents stuck in queues, the disease is causing people to panic all over the world, including India, which has already sent major city hospitals on red alert. This is evoking feelings of deja vu across the globe due to the lung illness’s uncanny similarities with Coronavirus, which was reported back in 2019 from the city of Wuhan, raising concerns about the possibility of another pandemic. However, the disease is not mysterious anymore, as claimed by the World Health Organisation and Chinese health authorities, who, despite the wariness surrounding

However, the disease is not mysterious anymore, as claimed by the World Health Organisation and Chinese health authorities, who, despite the wariness surrounding COVID-19, have been surprisingly cooperative in sharing the information with the world this time. China claims this is a cocktail of winter bugs, among them mycoplasma pneumoniae — bacteria that can cause mild infections of the respiratory system. Caused by a virus called Adenoviruses, a common cause of respiratory infections, it leads to mild illnesses. This is the one significant difference between COVID-19 and pneumonia SARS-CoV-2, which is more transmissible and can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and death.

Mycoplasma pneumonia has been labeled as ‘walking pneumonia’ here because the person feels alright, except for COVID-19, which can quickly progress to something terrible. Chinese health officials held a press conference on November 26, asserting they had not detected any “unusual or novel diseases” but acknowledging a surge in respiratory ailments among children.

Yes, there are some similarities between COVID-19 and pneumonia, which has resulted in causing most of the hysteria about the lung disease. First, both illnesses have originated in China, in one of its major provinces. Second, both viruses also caused respiratory illnesses, with symptoms such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath.

Additionally, both outbreaks required public health measures to contain the spread of the virus, including lockdowns, travel restrictions, and mask mandates. Experts believe that historically, the emergence of new flu strains or potential pandemic-triggering viruses manifests through undiagnosed respiratory illness clusters. Notably, both SARS and COVID-19 were initially reported as unusual p

The genetic diversity of the two viruses also differs hugely. While COVID-19 is infamously known to mutate rapidly, leading to several new variants that then became vaccine-resistant, Adenoviruses mutate less frequently, and there is no evidence that a more transmissible or vaccine-resistant strain causes the current outbreak. Mi Feng, the spokesperson for China’s National Health Commission, said recently, “According to the analysis, acute respiratory diseases in China have continued to rise recently, which is related to the superposition of multiple respiratory pathogens.”

The Chinese Health Authorities last week attributed the spread of pneumonia-like symptoms in children due to the lifting of the stringent COVID-19 restrictions and the ‘immunity gap.’ Experts have acknowledged that respiratory infections can easily be exchanged between different populations through travel but cautioned that there’s no indication of accelerated risk. Bruce Thompson, head of the Melbourne School of Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne, told Reuters that all preliminary data suggested there was nothing out of the ordinary. He said, “At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that may be a new variant of Covid.”

In the face of the new outbreak and the paranoia that followed, the world has stepped up action and entered a mode of heightened surveillance. The tidal wave of respiratory illnesses is unexpectedly surging in the Netherlands also, with 80 out of every 100,000 children between the ages of 5 and 15 being treated for the illness. Ohio was the first state in the United States to report the disease, with 142 cases.